URGENT: The Child Nutrition Act needs your support. Please act now.

We know that so many of you here in Rhode Island are concerned about the state of school lunch all around the United States, as evidenced by the large numbers of people who signed the Time for Lunch petition here in Rhody.

We just received an email from Slow Food USA that we wanted to share with you, because we think change to the Child Nutrition Act needs to happen right away, not a year or two from now.

From Slow Food USA:

The progress we’ve made on the Child Nutrition Bill is in jeopardy.

Why? Senate leaders are thinking about postponing the bill for another year or two. Instead of new funding for healthier food, stronger nutrition standards, and grants for Farm to School programs — which are all in the current bill — schools could end up with the same-old system next year.

A “Dear Colleague” letter is circulating in the Senate, urging Senate leaders to schedule time for the bill. The letter will be submitted to the leadership on Wednesday, May 19 — so our Senators need to sign it ASAP.

Can you ask your Senators to sign the letter today? Click here to send an email:

Over the last year, hundreds of thousands of people like you have spoken up for helping schools serve healthier food. The result is a Child Nutrition Bill with the most new funding and strongest standards in the sixty-year history of the National School Lunch Program.

It’s still not perfect, but we need to get the legislation moving — otherwise we risk starting over next year with zero funding, no standards and no grants for local food. Our goal right now is to show the Senate leadership that child nutrition is a priority, and that Senators want to address it — that’s the reasoning behind the “Dear Colleague” Letter.

When this bill reaches the Senate floor, we’re hoping Congress will improve it by increasing the funding for healthy food to at least $1 billion per year. But we can’t get there unless Congress makes child nutrition a priority.